MEET THE HUDSY TEAM
HUDSY is delivered to you by a small group of locals dedicated to protecting and celebrating the Hudson Valley’s talent, diversity, and culture.
Angel Gates Fonseca Co-Founder, PRODUCTION & DEVELOPMENT
Angel was born and raised in the South Bronx before moving to the Hudson Valley in 2016. His career started in the music industry, but he later embarked on a new path to deepen his love for film, which has led to becoming Co-Founder of HUDSY. Growing up in NYC, Angel experienced the rich culture that exists within the boroughs' unique melting pot, allowing him to work seamlessly with individuals of all backgrounds. He is a passionate, award-winning filmmaker and content creator with expertise in a full range of media services from shooting, and producing, to editing and directing.
Laura Kandel Co-Founder, Operations, EVENTS & HUDSY TV
Laura, a Hudson Valley native and Co-Founder of HUDSY, has been working in the arts community and advocating for artists in the Hudson Valley and surrounding tri-state area for over 20 years. She was a Co-Director and Operations Manager at Artrider, a large-scale contemporary fine craft event production company, for over 16 years and worked as a Guest Relations Coordinator at the Woodstock Film Festival for 12 years. She has been on the Arts Mid-Hudson Ulster Arts Awards Committee for over six years and enjoys celebrating and lifting up the inspiring artistic community she was born into.
Natasha Scully Content Creator
Christopher Greffrath Content Editor
Christopher Greffrath is an independent filmmaker from the Hudson Valley. Having learned many aspects of the art, Christopher has focused on developing his skills as a writer, cinematographer, director, composer and editor, preparing himself to become the best filmmaker he can be. After receiving his first award for best film, A Good Deed, at the Hudson Valley Film Festival, Christopher continues to improve and achieve his goals of making high quality films, working tirelessly to ready himself for bigger projects in the future. Christopher recently has collaborated with HUDSY and worked his way onto the team, becoming the editor and creating a strong working relationship that will pave the way for future success.
Madeline Friedman Graphic Designer
Madeline was raised in the Hudson Valley by professional artisans, finding herself fully immersed in a community of creatives following their dreams. After graduating Summa Cum Laude from Purchase College of Design with the “2018 Outstanding Senior Award," she immediately began her career as a graphic designer, working for Scholastic Inc. Madeline disliked the creatively-stifling corporate environment and began working for Artrider Productions, a contemporary fine craft show production company. While constantly inspired by the ever-changing world of digital design, she draws great inspiration from her foundation and passion for the art of cut paper. Madeline is extremely excited to be working for HUDSY; supporting and enriching the creative community in the Hudson Valley where she has called home her entire life.
Rob Harris Apprentice Program Leader, [email protected]
Rob Harris studied history at Stanford, interned with legendary documentary filmmaker Barbara Kopple, then went on to get a Masters in Journalism at UC Berkeley. After associate producing a PBS Frontline with Lowell Bergman, Rob spent five years as a staff video journalist for the New York Times, where he was part of teams that won two Pulitzers, one Emmy and a Dupont award.
The last few years Rob has split his time between teaching, editing, producing and managing digital media teams. Most recently Rob was digital media director at the Omega Institute for Holistic Studies. Rob teaches video production at SUNY New Paltz's Department of Digital Media & Journalism.
Jesse Brown Co-Founder
With over 20 years of media production and storytelling expertise, Jesse deeply believes in the power of place. In 2005, he helped to co-found a snowboarding magazine in Jackson Hole that still exists today, and has been a partner in a media production company as well as having built his own. Jesse brings a unique blend of skills from content creation to advertising sales and event production to the table, and often touts the mantra “our network is our net worth.” He loves to connect people and organizations in ways that help everyone realize their goals.
Jesse transitioned away from HUDSY in June of 2023 to pursue other projects.
Shawn Strong Co-Founder
Shawn is the recipient of a partial Fine Arts scholarship to St. John’s University with a minor in Communications. He ran a music studio for over seven years before enrolling at SUNY Orange for Visual Communications with a concentration in TV Production, which led to being a filmmaker. Shawn started a digital media and video production company called Phanatiks Entertainment in 2011 and has shot numerous music videos and commercials, produced a creative arts web show, and most recently a series of Sit-In Talks discussing the social justice movement. He is a HUDSY co-founder but not currently involved in operations on a day-to-day basis, and serves on the Board of Directors at Arts Mid-Hudson.